With contributions from our correspondents and correspondents
Rosalba Castelletti (Moscow), Anais Ginori (Paris), Antonello Guerrera (London), Tonia Mastrobuoni (Berlin), Paolo Mastrolilli (New York), Serenella Mattera (Rome), Gianluca Modolo (Beijing), Claudio Tito (Brussels), Fabio Tonacci (Kiev)
The maelstrom was the nightmare of the Vikings. A whirlpool that opened suddenly in the serene waters and, as one approached it, became of an irresistible power, dragging ships and men into the abyss. Even the legends about the birth of Kiev merge with the Norse sagas and with the epic of the warriors who arrived in these plains from Scandinavia, so much so that the national symbol is a marine trident. And what is happening today is terribly reminiscent of a maelstrom: Ukraine has been engulfed in a vortex of violence, a dark and unstoppable force that has engulfed the entire country. The worst ghosts in European history have once again materialized in this spiral of destruction, in which nuclear weapons are increasingly evoked.